UPDATE: Holland restaurant closes after illnesses reported | News

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UPDATE at 11:00 P.M. (WZZM)-- A Holland restaurant will likely remain closed into next week, as the Ottawa County Health Department investigates dozens of illnesses involving customers.

The owner of Margarita's Mexican restaurant says the first cases of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea surfaced Tuesday evening. He didn't find out about the problem until Thursday, when he took three complaints from people who had dined at his restaurant. Since then, the number of reported illnesses has grown to 40, and one person was hospitalized with dehydration. Two cases happened at the Ottawa County Fair, where restaurant employees were serving food.

"It's very emotionally draining just because we're a family owned, family operated restaurant that has worked really hard at gaining the respect of our community," said owner Alonzo Salinas. "My hopes would be that we could still continue to maintain that integrity of being one of the best Mexican restaurants here in Holland."

The restaurant voluntarily closed for a thorough cleaning this weekend.

Test results determining the cause of the illnesses are expected Monday. Salinas suspects a sick employee may be to blame for the outbreak. He hopes to reopen as soon as Tuesday.

HOLLAND, Mich. (WZZM) - A restaurant in Holland has voluntarily closed its doors while the Ottawa County Health Department investigates a series of illnesses among customers who ate there.

Health department spokeswoman Shannon Felgner says the complaints started coming in Thursday. Felgner says the majority of those who reported being sick recovered within 24 hours; however, one person was admitted to Holland Hospital with dehydration.